New Template for OpenCart 2.0

Well, to be honest when I first heard of version 2.0 I was imaging a total rebuilding of the source code and maybe making the OC finally using some well-known and popular framework.

With the current changes (in master branch ) I can only see the default theme is responsive (finally, after few years of third-party responsive themes and over a year of Bootstrap being popular) and some changes in the OC's core that should be still considered as minor release version (maybe a next 1.6?).

I love OpenCart from the very beginning when I bumped into it (it was some early 1.2 version) ca 5 years ago and I sticked to it since then - mostly because all other e-commerce solutions (mostly dead for a few years now) were written in terrible manor (not using MVC, mixing up PHP 3 and PHP 4 when it was already PHP 5 out there for a long time, mixing HTML, PHP and SQL in one file, etc.). But if I look back now for the past 2-3 years we only had minor (or not so major) functionality/features updates/upgrades from which mostly only new payment methods were added (as was mentioned somewhere here - almost 90% of which is not suited for the world outside USA).

I am looking on OC as a developer, not as a user, thus with each new version I am expecting some improvement for developers as well - e.g. easier extendability, easier extensions incorporation, better code structure, better DB support, and I could continue. But if I look back to the point where I started developing for OpenCart (or started implementing e-commerce sites using it) from the developer point of view almost nothing has changed... We still have the same (almost) MVC, there is still the same implementation of IoC (acting like the service locator pattern), we still have the same no templating (using only pure HTML + <?php echo ?> when a lot of easy to use templating languages is out there), we still have the same translation files (unnecessarily splitted into so many files).

From a developer point of view I would expect the version 2.0 shall bring some major improvements. Now I am watching the OC 2.0 birth (from when it was announced) but I can't see any.

I mean YES to the responsive default theme (even it is comming maybe a year late), YES to new features, YES to new jQuery, but isn't it forgotten about the developers - the salt of OpenCart's life and the soil of OpenCart's community?

Daniel said this a while ago:

once i have fixed the out standing issues and sorted the admin template we can have a discussion on core changes.

So, I think when the time comes, it would be nice to come up with some positive contributions and ideas on how to improve it.

To shadyyx: Just curious, you mentioned templating systems. How do you propose a mechanism where multiple 3rd party addons which are not aware of each other can modify them?

JNeuhoff wrote:Just curious, you mentioned templating systems. How do you propose a mechanism where multiple 3rd party addons which are not aware of each other can modify them?

I mentioned templating system just like an example like as others. But to be honest I do not get Your question. What does have the templating system (e.g. Twig, Smarty, etc.) to do with 3rd party addons? Let's just say that OC would have used some templating system - then the third party addons would also have to be developed in the same way - using the same templating system. Maybe I just do not get Your point.

Either way, this was only for example. To be honest I do not like templating systems, pure HTML and PHP is much more flexible and the most lightweight. Maybe I did not talk out clearly - what I wanted to say is this: now in each controller the same code for loading in the template file is copied over and over - why the template file is not loaded by default from the parent Controller class while giving the developer the possibility to override it if needed? This is again only one pick example.

But OK, I'll wait even more and when the talk about core changes starts I hope I'll be there...

To be honest I do not like templating systems, pure HTML and PHP is much more flexible and the most lightweight

Maybe I misunderstood you, sorry. I prefer pure HTML5 and PHP myself, too, to any of these templating systems such as Smarty etc.

My question about modifying templates was this: You can regard Opencart as a collection of core files, made up of controller and model and language PHP files, and a bunch of template files (*.tpl). Suppose 2 different 3rd party developers have the need to modify the same core file, e.g. the 'common/header.tpl' file, because each one wants to add or remove some HTML elements. How would you go about it? At the moment we've got VQmod and the Override Engine for this, but none of them provides an elegant solution when it comes to modifying core template files (the Override Engine is fine for dynamic class extensions, and overriding language files, VQmod is a pure dynamic search and replace approach, good for quick small fixes).

JNeuhoff wrote:My question about modifying templates was this: Suppose 2 different 3rd party developers have the need to modify the same core file, e.g. the 'common/header.tpl' file, because each one wants to add or remove some HTML elements. How would you go about it?

To be honest and from my point of view if one extension is removing some HTML that the other is depending on then it is really hard. The only possibility (when speaking of vQmod, as I do not know this Override engine) would be to specify also the priority at which the concrete XML file is being applied so that the one extension relying on the presence of some HTML is handled before the other that will remove this HTML. But this is also possible only in the case that the first extension is not modifying that HTML, it is only used as reference to place something before or after.

There are many possible conflicts and I deal with them quite often even with my own extensions (when dealing with other 3rd party extensions). And not only within templates, more often within core library files - one extension modifies the line that my extension is relying on (and adding some other code after it) and the conflict is on earth.

But until developers will be able to create extensions that modify core files (not only adding functionality, but also modifying and/or deleting some code) we cannot avoid conflicts IMHO (that means I cannot think of solid solution in just a few minutes)...

Surely the most important aspect is to get it right first time, as an end user I'd far rather 2.0 was as near bug free as possible before launch and if that takes several months more then fine... get it right.

Further as an end user and my livelihood depending on it I'd guess I'd wait at least 6 months before using such a major upgrade as is planned with 2.0. I want my sites to work day in day out and so my latest site will be built on 1.5.? (please keep working on this version guys) and I will wait and see what 2.0 brings.

Hey, I've been rebuilding the front-end structure of a OpenCart 1.5.5.6 with Bootstrap.

Check it out:

https://github.com/glauberm/oc-bs

versu wrote:There are many free extensions with ajax auto-fill search, e.g. http://www.opencart.com/index.php?route ... n_id=13451

BTW, this topic is about new template, not about new functions.

Nothing wrong with asking reasonable questions or making constructive suggestions. Stop with the moaning already

glauberm wrote:Hey, I've been rebuilding the front-end structure of a OpenCart 1.5.5.6 with Bootstrap.

Thanks

Eveline wrote:I am starting to think they OpenCart team is made of people who never made it in the real world because lack of acceptable social skills and ended up doing some online stuff hiding away behind a forum....

I've tried to say away from the moaning but this is getting a bit too far. Discrediting people who are far more intelligent than you in this area shows your stupidity.

Seriously who in the world in waiting for an Alpha or Beta?

People with higher skills than you use beta and alpha versions. Just because you don't know what to do with something does not mean it's not useful to others.

Now settle down and stop throwing tantrums. Ask yourself what is it that you want that Open Cart does not have, where can you get it and go get it or write it. It's that simple and much more pleasant than throwing tantrums.

Be happy. The world won't end if version 2 is late.

Hi guys!
First, I want to thank the OpenCart team and the OC community for this great piece of software.

The new theme looks good (yeah, Bootstrap rulez) but I have a few sugestions regarding the performance of the current jQuery code (as I saw it in Firebug). I'm sorry if this is not the right topic, but v2.0 is not released yet.
Here's my take at the code, with explanations wherever I made modifications / perf. tuning.

For example, keep in mind that Sizzle is a right to left, bottom to top engine, so something like this: will NOT speed up the DOM traversal, but actually slow it down, as the engine starts by finding all <a> tags THEN it checks if each of them have a <li> parent, THEN it checks if those parents have a '#language-menu' parent.
If you want to restrain the context (I'm assuming that's what you were looking for), here are some options: More, if we know that '#language-menu' has <li>s as direct children, this would be preferred: And if we want to attach a click event on those elements, it is best to attach it directly on their main holder, not on every child link (memory usage, performance hit and event delegation for future <a> tags) Once again, I apologize if this post doesn't belong here.
Here's the file. I haven't tested it, I just modified the code in notepad, added comments and marked the modifified blocks with /* ByColor */.

Keep up the good work!

I have just used new template yesterday, and It's not very magic, normal template I don't understand why you write: oh my God, that's great, that's beautiful. Just a template, but new

I wish everyone would stop complaining about OpenCart, it is a really good piece software that is free! this new template is great! and anyone with a bit of respect should be patient for Daniel and co to finish developing 2.0.

I've been using 1.5.5.1 for about 8months now and its been a breath of fresh air, I'm really looking forward to the release of 2.0. I view my website a lot on my smartphone so the new responsiveness will come in handy.

fisher05 wrote:I wish everyone would stop complaining about OpenCart, it is a really good piece software that is free! this new template is great!

I fully agree, there is nothing from preventing anyone to try out the new version 2.0 right now, just download it from github, and test it. Our Override Engine has already been ported to the new OpenCart 2.0, and it's working great, it is capable of cooperating with both VQmod and OpenCart's own modification system, so we can already port 1.5.x extensions to 2.0. Also, the new extension installer looks quite promising, it is capable of letting extensions run their own installers (install.xml, install.sql, or install.php) automatically. And porting old 1.5.x web themes to 2.0 is no rocket science (though some work is needed, but nothing major).

efecto wrote:I have just used new template yesterday, and It's not very magic, normal template I don't understand

For me, it's because it's responsive.

Hi,

Looks clean, agree on alignment but also wonder why one page checkout hasn't been adopted.

Im dying to get hold of the latest version of OC

If Daniel or anyone wants to send it us to test etc that would be awesome!

We're big in the opencart game here in the UK (well, we like to think so... as does google....) and would love to contribute, test and help out!!

You can download from github -- now -- although it is still not yet in beta. You're scarcely alone, as you're well aware.

I just removed all the Crap from people who obvious just come here to be negative.

If you want be negative, that is OK, but keep it in your own topic.

This topic is about the new template in 2.0, nothing else.

If you have issues with me doing this, feel free to contact me.

Eh, we WERE talking about 2.0....

I HATE cencorship. So we can't say anything negative on this forum? Not even when it's the thruth? Let me guess, you don't want people to know....

Why don't you go to North Korea? There pretty good an censorship there to you'll fit right in.

Eveline wrote:Eh, we WERE talking about 2.0....

Eh, maybe you need glasses:

i2Pac wrote:This topic is about the new template in 2.0, nothing else.

So, if you want to write about the new template, you are in the right place.
If not, you are free to open a new thread and post everything you want.
Nothing to do with censorship.